Zimbabwe: A country at peace - the world according to the public media

Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
Monday February 2nd - Sunday February 8th 2004
Weekly Media Update 2004-5

Contents:
* Press freedom curtailed
* Rights abuses
* Gutu North election results coverage

1. Press freedom curtailed

Press freedom suffered a severe blow this week when Chief Justice
Godfrey Chidyausiku and three other Supreme Court judges defended
the legitimacy of regulations outlawing journalists who practice without
accreditation from the government appointed Media and Information
Commission (MIC).
This followed a November 2002 Supreme Court petition filed by the
Independent Journalists Association of Zimbabwe (IJAZ) challenging
the constitutionality of repressive sections of Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the powers of the MIC, headed
by Tafataona Mahoso.

In his judgment Chidyausiku ruled that the constitutional right to
freedom of expression was not violated by AIPPA's Section 79, which
forces journalists to register with the MIC or Section 83, which prohibits
journalists from practising without accreditation. The powers vested in
MIC under Section 85 of AIPPA were also deemed constitutional.
Only Section 80 (1), (a) and (c) of the Act, which criminalized the
abuse of journalistic privilege, was struck off the Statute books. But
these had been removed anyway as a result of amendments to the Act
made since the appeal was lodged.
The devastating consequences of the ruling were immediately felt.
Barely 24 hours after its delivery, Zimbabwe's popular alternative daily,
The Daily News, was forced off the streets because its journalists had
to first seek accreditation from the MIC.
While the private media described Chidyausiku's ruling as "a death
knell to Press freedom", (The Sunday Mirror, 8/2), the government-
controlled Press simply carried Chidyausiku's ruling without
questioning its profound implications on the media landscape.

ZBC (5/2, 8pm) was even worse. The government-controlled public
broadcaster ignored the ruling altogether. It only reported that the
Supreme Court had reserved judgment in a case in which the MIC was
seeking an interdict barring the publishers of The Daily News, the
Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), from operating pending
finalization of the consolidated appeals on February 18. The case was
heard the same day as that of IJAZ.
Such calculated manipulation of important news resulted in the
government-controlled media censoring the views of Zimbabwe's
"most experienced" Supreme Court judge, Justice Wilson Sandura,
who disagreed with his fellow judges over the mandatory accreditation
and punishment of journalists under AIPPA.

His dissenting judgment was only given space by the private media
such as Studio 7 (05/02), The Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe Independent
(6/2) and The Standard (8/2).
For example, The Zimbabwe Independent reported Sandura as saying
the mandatory accreditation of journalists was undemocratic because it
violated Section 20 of the Constitution, which guarantees citizens,
freedom of expression, which is "a cornerstone upon which the very
existence of a democratic society rests". The practice of journalism,
Sandura argued, was nothing less than the regular exercise of one's
right to freedom of expression and thus could not be separated from
that right.
He argued that since the accreditation of journalists by MIC under
Section 79 of AIPPA was subject to approval by Information Minister
Jonathan Moyo and his secretary, George Charamba, this translated
into a restrictive measure as compared to a "mere formality"
otherwise "why would it need the minister's approval?"

The judge dismissed Minister Moyo's claim (as first respondent) that
the main objective of accreditation was to ensure accountability and
easy access to events by journalists noting, ". the legislative
objective given is not sufficiently important to justify limiting
freedom of expression".
This contrasted with comments attributed to Chidyausiku in the same
paper dismissing as "misconceived" the suggestion that the MIC was
"sufficiently not independent" of Moyo.
Besides censoring Sandura's opinion on the matter, The Sunday Mail
(8/2) displayed its intolerance to alternative views by attacking the
integrity of the judge for his dissenting observations in its 'Under the
Surface' column.
Using vitriolic language laced with racial bigotry, the paper described
Sandura as "a snake in the house.with stinking colonial
ideas.that would one day.strike while we concentrate on
pressing issues and it would be too late to hit its poisonous
head".
The column likened Sandura to former Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay,
whom government hounded out of the Supreme Court because of his
principled stand on government's controversial land reforms and the
rule of law.

It noted that "this Gubbay residue (Sandura)" was more dangerous
because "it has the colour that we can identify with and speaks
our mother language".
Notably, the paper unwittingly exposed what civic society has always
suspected- that government has seriously compromised the effective
delivery of justice by forcing out judges who are perceived to be anti-
government and packing the courts with its sympathisers.
As if to illustrate this, The Weekend Tribune (7/2) refreshed readers'
memories about how Administrative Court President, Judge Michael
Majuru, was forced out of his job for taking "the proper, unbiased
application and interpretation of the law and administration of
justice rather than come up with a judgment tailor-made to suit
political considerations as seen through government eyes" in the
ANZ/MIC legal battle.

It was referring to events that followed Justice Majuru's ruling in
October last year that the MIC was biased against the Daily News and
was improperly constituted. He also ordered that the ANZ be granted a
licence to operate.
The government media, however, remained reluctant to expose such
interference in the delivery of justice or to examine the effects this
might have had on the IJAZ challenge.
Rather, they appeared to complement government efforts to muzzle
the private media, especially by campaigning for the continued
shutdown of The Daily News, as exemplified by The Herald's
obsession (3/2) with depicting the private daily as still peddling "lies".
The paper wished for the daily's demise suggesting, "It is a fact that
Zimbabwe would be better off without the vindictive tabloid."
Further, The Herald and Chronicle (7/2) implied that The Daily News
reporters had "downed tools" until they got accreditation from MIC
instead of stating unequivocally that the disappearance of the paper
from the streets was a result of the Supreme Court ruling on the
requirements of accreditation.
While the government-controlled media appeared to support this grave
erosion of democratic space in the country, the private media was
steadfast in exposing it.

The Zimbabwe Independent, for example, predicted that the Supreme
Court judgment was "likely to a have a chilling effect on the
practice of journalism.and provides the government with the
weapon it needs to deal with dissent in the independent Press".
The Standard comment (8/2) likened Chidyausiku's judgment to a
backward leap "in our struggle for a full-blown democracy", similar
to the 1965 Unilateral Declaration of Independence declared by Ian
Smith.

In addition to using repressive legislation to gag the independent
media, government also sought to further erode the people's freedom
to communicate by drafting new regulations governing the operations
of the telecommunications industry. The regulations sought to outlaw
the use of Econet Wireless (whose major shareholder, Strive
Masiyiwa, also controls the ANZ) as a 'gateway' to international
satellite telecommunications, leaving the government controlled
TelOne as the sole provider of international connections.

In fact, The Herald had sounded a warning on Christmas Eve when it
reported that government was likely to withdraw Econet's operating
licence because it was allegedly not remitting its foreign currency
earnings, which "were being used to finance subversive activities
to undermine the government of Zimbabwe".

In reporting the matter, ZBC (2/2, 8pm) omitted to examine the
underlying implications of such a move to freedom of expression.
Instead, ZTV blindly presented the developments as part of
government's plans to "restore order" in "the telecommunications
sector, which had become chaotic" and linked the move to Reserve
Bank Governor, Gideon Gono's monetary policy.
However, SW Radio Africa (04/02) was more astute. It quoted a Media
Institute of Southern Africa spokesman pointing out that that the
regulations would "stifle the rights of the people to receive and
impart information."

Earlier, The Daily News (4/2) reported that the High Court had declared
government's latest decision " . null, void and of no effect to the
applicant (Econet)." This followed an urgent application filed by
Econet contesting the move.
However, the paper (3/2) failed to fully probe the political connotations
behind government's action although it cited "last week's State media
reports" as saying government had realised that "several
telecommunications companies", including Econet, were providing
satellite services through third parties which had serious implications
for the country's security and was "prejudicing the fiscus of much
needed currency".

The Herald (4/2) also reported the outcome of the court case. The next
day the paper (5/2) unquestioningly announced government's plans to
circumvent the High Court by "instituting necessary amendments in
order for the Government decision on the single international
operator to be implemented".

The paper quoted former Communications Minister Witness
Mangwende saying although his ministry "respects the decision of
the High Court .the country could not afford to duplicate
infrastructure when only one international gateway could
suffice."
Once again ZBC ignored the court's nullification of the regulations
altogether.
But what was even more remarkable in the coverage of the issue was
the omission by all media of the fact that Econet had on January 30
received a fax from government at about 6.45pm giving the company a
five-hour notice to "cease to operate", The Mail and Guardian (5/2).

2. Human rights abuses

The government-controlled media's tendency to portray a picture of
peace and tranquility in the country has resulted in these media
ignoring the continued erosion of basic human rights by overzealous
ZANU PF fanatics, security force members and the government
through its promulgation of unconstitutional laws.

The responsibility has been completely left to the private media. For
instance, this week SW Radio Africa carried 17 stories, which reported
18 cases of rights abuses. Studio 7 had four stories highlighting two
incidents of rights violations. ZBC had none.
The trend was similar in the print media. While the private papers
published 12 reports on human rights abuses, the government Press
only carried a single story.
Even then, the report - on police thwarting "an illegal
demonstration" by the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) - was
in the form of a brief buried inside The Herald (5/2).
More conspicuous however, was the paper's failure to reveal the
violence with which the police broke up the peaceful protest, aimed at
pressing government to adopt a new Constitution for the country.
Studio 7 and SW Radio Africa (04/02), The Daily News and The Daily
Mirror (5/2) alerted their audiences to the police's brutality.

They reported that armed anti-riot police had severely beaten NCA
chairman Lovemore Madhuku, whom they allegedly left for dead in the
bush outside Harare city centre. The police were also reported to have
beaten up 13 other NCA youths and set "vicious dogs on them".
Only the private media carried civil society's condemnation of the
police brutality.
The Zimbabwe Independent (6/2), for example, quoted the Human
Rights Forum describing the police action as "barbaric" and "totally
unjustified." adding that it "contravened sections of the
Constitution let alone the Code of Conduct of the ZRP itself".
The paper also quoted the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),
which described the incident as " further evidence of the intolerance
by the Mugabe regime."
Far from seeing anything amiss, The Herald (6/2) shamefully
celebrated Madhuku's beating in its comment Ex-convict Madhuku
playing to the gallery.

The paper accused the NCA leader of "engaging in conduct that he
knew would invite the immediate and justified wrath of the law-
enforcement agents". It added sarcastically of other arrested NCA
activists, ".the demonstrators - obviously in search of cheap
martyrdom - elbowed each other for a place in police vans".
Moreover, instead of chastising the police for their brutality the paper
chose to advise the protesters "to be more tactful in dealing with
the Madhukus of this world" because "pictures of a bandaged and
bloodstained Madhuku after alleged scuffles with the police only
serve to make the ex-convict look important and look as if he has
a legitimate cause."

But despite this brutal assault, Simbi Mubako, Zimbabwe's
Ambassador to the United States, on Studio 7 (04/02), that Zimbabwe
respected human rights because they were "well protected in our
constitution and in our law" and as such the police and the courts
dealt with human rights violations.
To rebut Mubako's claims, SW Radio Africa (04/02) exposed the police
complicity in the perpetration of rights abuses in Chipinge. It reported
that ZANU PF supporters who assaulted members of the opposition
were allegedly using "a police vehicle driven by an officer in police
uniform in the door-to-door attacks."

3. Gutu North by-election results

The ruling ZANU PF victory over the opposition MDC in the just ended
Gutu North by-election received different interpretations in the media.
The private media queried the conditions under which the elections
were held, while the government-controlled media, just like they have
handled previous elections, simply welcomed the outcome without
reservation.

For example, ZTV & Power FM (06/02, 8pm) interpreted the outcome
to mean "ZANU PF has managed to maintain its rural areas grip
while MDC is losing its grip on urban areas". They then quoted a
ZANU PF advocate, Augustine Timbe, as saying the results showed
that, "Zimbabweans have now realized that the opposition has no
proper policies to offer the country."
Similarly, The Herald (5/2 & 6/2), Chronicle (6/2), The Manica Post
(6/2) and The Sunday News (8/2) narrowly viewed Josiah Tungamirai's
win over the MDC's Crispa Musoni as a sign that ZANU PF was
consolidating its position against the MDC.

However, the private media disputed this notion. For instance, during
the first day of voting The Daily News (2/2) already dismissed fair play
in the poll when it reported MDC's director of elections Remus
Makuwaza alleging government plans to rig the Gutu North by-election.
Makuwaza claimed that about 7 000 registered voters in Harare
constituencies had also been registered in Gutu North and several
names and addresses on the voters' roll had been interchanged
"causing thousands of people to be turned away".

He said the situation was worsened by the refusal of the Registrar
General's (RG) Office to release a consolidated voters' roll after
inspection period, prior to election.
SW Radio Africa (2/2) and Studio 7 (3/2) carried similar allegations.
More reports of electoral irregularities in Gutu North were carried by
SW Radio Africa (3/2) and The Daily Mirror (3/2).

The Zimbabwe Independent story (6/2), Traditional leaders win ZANU
PF Gutu North, further belied government media's claims that ZANU
PF's victory was due to its popularity.
The story exposed how ZANU PF used traditional leaders to coerce
and intimidate the electorate to vote for the party. An unnamed farmer
was quoted saying a ZANU PF victory "was a foregone conclusion"
because "ZANU PF's machinery had effectively penetrated all
structures". To corroborate this perspective the paper also quoted the
Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) expressing concern over
the "role of village heads in the election".
Ends